Askeran
Askeran is a town in the Khojaly District of Azerbaijan, in the region of Nagorno-Karabakh. Until 2023 it was controlled by the breakaway Republic of Artsakh, as the centre of its Askeran Province. The town had an ethnic Armenian-majority population until the Expulsion of [Nagorno-Karabakh Armenians|expulsion] of the Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh by Azerbaijan following the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh. It is located on the left bank of the Karkar River, approximately northeast of the regional capital, Stepanakert.
Etymology
Medieval Armenian sources attest to a settlement in the locale called Mayraberd. The modern name Askeran refers to the settlement's historic use from the beginning of the 18th century as an arsenal for various military powers.History
Askeran originally belonged to the historic territory of Dizak before becoming part of the Armenian Melikdom of Varanda in the first half of the 16th century. The Askeran fortress protected the eastern frontier of Varanda from the semi-autonomous Karabakh Khanate, which was under the suzerainty of Iran. The Askeran Fortress was built upon the foundations of the medieval Armenian village and fortress known as Mayraberd. In 1752, the melik of Varanda, Shahnazar II, made an alliance with the Karabakh khan Panah Ali Khan, who expanded the fortress to its current state. In July 1795, the Askeran fortress was captured by the forces of the Qajar shah Agha [Mohammad Khan Qajar], who attempted to restore Iranian rule in the southeastern Caucasus.During the Russo-Persian War of 1804–1813, the Russian encampment was near the fortress. In 1810, peace talks between Russia and Iran were conducted at the fortress. Restoration works on the fortress began in 2018. The fortress is situated in the southern part of the town.
In the Russian Empire, Askeran was part of the Shusha Uyezd in the Elisabethpol Governorate. During the Soviet period, the city was the administrative center of the Askeran District, which was a part of the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in the Soviet Socialist Republic|Azerbaijan SSR].
Askeran was the site of one of the starting points of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict in 1988, the Askeran clash. On 22 February 1988, a crowd of angry Azerbaijanis marched from Agdam in the direction of Stepanakert and clashed with police and local Armenians in Askeran, ending in the death of two Azerbaijanis and injuries on both sides. The town was known as an Armenian stronghold during the war. In 1991, it became the center of the Askeran Province of the Republic of Artsakh following the First Nagorno-Karabakh War. Askeran came under Azerbaijani control on 24 September 2023, after the 2023 Azerbaijani offensive in Nagorno-Karabakh and the flight of the Armenian population.